PACIFIC BEACH  A San Diego police officer shot and wounded a man armed with a pair of scissors on a busy Pacific Beach street Saturday afternoon.

The man, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound to the lower abdomen and was expected to survive, police said.

The incident started about 3:45 p.m. at Garnet Avenue and Everts Street, when a victim called 911 reporting a man lunged at him with a pair of scissors, said police Capt. Terry McManus. The victim was able to back away and was not hurt.

San Diego police handcuff an armed suspect who was shot by an officer on Garnet Avenue.
Brian Yono

San Diego police handcuff an armed suspect who was shot by an officer on Garnet Avenue.

Another witness found an officer, who was parked a block away at Garnet and Dawes Street, and told him about the assailant. The officer got out of his car, saw the suspect at the corner, walked across a strip mall parking lot and drew his gun, said Brian Yono, a clerk at a corner Sprint store who said he watched the encounter.

Yono said the officer told the man several times to drop the weapon, but the man refused.

“He turned around and walked rapidly toward the officer,” McManus said. “The officer, fearing for his life, fired one shot.”

Witness Joey Ortega said he and a friend, who are visiting from Sacramento, were getting out of their car when they saw the officer approach the man, gun drawn.

Ortega described the man as possibly a transient in his early 30s. He said the man was pacing back and forth, about 15 to 20 feet from the officer.

“The guy said, ‘I’m not going to drop it,’” Ortega, 26, recalled.

“He looked agitated, like twitching,” he added.

Yono said the man raised the scissors and started to throw them, and that’s when the officer fired.

“I couldn’t tell if he was going to throw the weapon down, or at the officer, or what,” Yono said.

Ortega’s friend, Robert Roddick, 23, filmed the shooting on his cellphone. The police will review it for evidence.

Several other witnesses were being questioned.

McManus said he believes the assailant has been contacted by police before.

The officer involved in the shooting has been on the department for about five years. His name was not released.

Garnet between Everts and Cass streets was closed while police investigate.